Here are reviews of a series of books of reference proposing film reviews, analysis or interviews. The reviewer has yearned to explain what was the point of each book, as well as their advantage and limitations. Have a pleasant reading.

Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs - The Trilogy

Early July 2007, Chinese filmmakers, politics and moviegoers celebrated the tenth anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to the motherland. Arguably, very few works on the big screen have come to represent this decade as aptly as Andrew Lau’s and Alan Mak’s trilogy Infernal Affairs, starring Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Kelly Chen. Immensely successful and influential, IA relates the uncertainties of Hong Kong people (citizen and filmmakers alike) prior and after the 1997 Handover.

“The IA trilogy speaks the times,” wrote Gina Marchetti in her insightful yet accessible book, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Infernal Affairs - The Trilogy (ISBN 978-962-209-801-5, 2007). An Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong, Marchetti wrote several volumes on Chinese cinema. In her new tome, edited by the Hong Kong University Press, she explores, among other things, the significance of IA within the last decade.
This period was very special indeed in the history of the young Special Administrative Region and its cinema; after the 1997 Handover, Hong Kong people have endured much hardship (SARS outbreak; financial downturn; death of superstar Leslie Cheung; unemployment on the rise; film industry collapse) and experienced existential doubts.
“Not all films or film series lend themselves to book-length study,” says Marchetti who peeled the film’s multiple layers to reveal the great many themes it weaves. The deceptively complex plot goes far beyond a mere cat and mouse story about two moles -- one a triad in the Hong Kong police department and the other a cop passing as a mobster. It also dealt with Hong Kong history, Chinese religion and moral philosophy, global capitalism, the dynamics of the Hong Kong film industry, etc.
If the trilogy spoke the times, its depth also spoke to viewers. After years of absenteeism, locals were queuing again to catch the film on theatre, despite rampant piracy and the development of home video and cable-TV. The box office receipts for the three episodes were high and unexpected (respectively HKD 54 million, HKD 25 million and HKD 30 million).

After breaking box office records, IA was regarded as a significant cinematic achievement that appeared when no one was expecting it --at a very low moment in the Hong Kong's recent past (2002). Explains Marchetti: “[Infernal Affairs] helped to show that Hong Kong could still produce a film that could make a profit.”
The commercial success and the global qualities of IA have not failed to captivate Hollywood filmmakers who translated the story to another urban environment, South Boston. Last year, the IA first episode was remade by Martin Scorsese, into The Departed, a US superstar-studded cast multi-Academy-Awards winner.
From IA, a franchise at once local and universal, Scorsese grasped the issues of identity that any audience in an increasingly complex urban society can relate to. “The experience of Hong Kong [in IA] as a place -- constantly changing, global, at the cutting edge of economic and social trends -- speaks to viewers who live in similarly cosmopolitan, highly competitive, consumer-saturated environments,” says Marchetti.
Yet, “the Departed does not have the epic scope of the IA trilogy and the sense of history in the making,” comments Charles Leary, a teacher in histories of Hong Kong film at New York University. Though IA fans tend to prefer it to The Departed, Marchetti warns that “both films need to be taken seriously.”
Just like IA concerned Hong Kong and China in the decade following the Handover, The Departed has a lot to say about the state of America today and its institutions, especially after 2001. “If Hong Kong suffers a crisis in its identity and the legitimacy of its key institutions after 1997,” says Marchetti, “then the US suffers a similar crisis after Bush’s response to 9-11 (…) with [for instance] the bankruptcy of its political institutions after the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.”

HKCinemagic :The Infernal Affairs (IA) trilogy has various layers that you peel to discuss only specific themes in the book. Can you talk about these layers, which themes you choose to address and why?

Gina Marchetti : Not all films or film series lend themselves to book-length study. In that regard, the IA trilogy’s richness provides a rare opportunity to look at a single narrative in considerable depth. That’s what attracted me to the project. Although on a basic level, IA is a simple cat and mouse story about two moles—one a triad in the Hong Kong police department and the other a cop passing as a mobster—it also goes far beyond the framework of its plot. If you look closely, you begin to realize that the trilogy also deals with Hong Kong history, Chinese religion and moral philosophy, global capitalism, the dynamics of the Hong Kong film industry, and issues of identity that plague most of us in our increasingly complex urban society. The film weaves these themes into the fabric of the narrative, and it was my pleasure to tease them out for analysis.

HKCinemagic : Can we understand the real extent of the trilogy without knowing anything about the HK society, politics, and development?

Gina Marchetti : Because of its complexity, the trilogy can be approached on many different levels. Yes, I think many viewers simply appreciate the story or enjoy the performances of the actors. Although an understanding of Hong Kong adds to the experience, it is not essential. Also, many critics—in addition to me—have noted that the experience of Hong Kong as a place—constantly changing, global, at the cutting edge of economic and social trends—speaks to viewers who live in similarly cosmopolitan, highly competitive, consumer-saturated environments. It is not necessary to know about Hong Kong to appreciate the film on that level.

HKCinemagic :IA is a film set in a “complex world of new technologies and postindustrial, transnational economies.” How does this context reflect on the film and influence it?

Gina Marchetti : I call the film and the city of Hong Kong “postmodern” in my book, and I feel that word aptly suits both. The film describes the way in which Hong Kong has gone beyond the “modern” world of industrial development, individual “progress,” and optimism. The film describes the “postmodern” environment of uncertainty, speed, spectacle, and constant transformation. The characters represent this mutating world, and the story highlights their angst.

HKCinemagic :The film has been adapted for The Departed. What do you think of Martin Scorsese’s remake and how different the two films are?

Gina Marchetti : Yes, the two films are quite different although many of the plot points in both films remain the same.

HKCinemagic :Is The Departed as important as IA is? What does IA offer that The Departed doesn’t?

Gina Marchetti : Both films were enormously successful critically and financially. They are about very different cities—Boston and Hong Kong—and very different cultures—Chinese and American (specifically Irish/Catholic-American).

HKCinemagic : Isn’t The Departed an empty shell without all the cultural, social and historical implications IA offers and that you describe in the book?

Gina Marchetti : Although fans of IA tend to prefer it to THE DEPARTED, I think that both films need to be taken seriously. THE DEPARTED is not about Hong Kong; however, it has a lot to say about the American city, the corruption of its institutions, ethnic and religious identity in America, the impact of changing ethics, violence, and the state of America today—i.e., the bankruptcy of political institutions after the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, the casual acceptance of torture after 9-11, etc. If Hong Kong suffers a crisis in its identity and the legitimacy of its key institutions after the Handover in 1997, then the US suffers a similar crisis after Bush’s response to 9-11.

I am not at all surprised that Martin Scorsese was attracted to the project.

HKCinemagic : Hollywood is on the lookout for some more material to remake. Confession of Pain was bought by Warner Bros for another remake. What’s your take on that? Is it a positive or a negative thing?
Can you talk about the tendency of Hollywood to remake films and where does IA stands?

Gina Marchetti : We had a symposium here at the University of Hong Kong in 2004 on Hong Kong/Hollywood cinematic connections. The topic of Hollywood remakes of Hong Kong film came up on several occasions. Personally, I think money drives it. If a film makes money internationally, has a track record, and can be shown to potential investors as a “hot” property for a domestic remake, why not? It happens all the time. Hollywood has drawn on international film talent since the silent era, and I don’t see the system changing any time soon. Hong Kong does the same—it takes Hollywood stories and reworks them. It is really a question of film as a business not as an art form. In the case of IA/THE DEPARTED, I don’t think the investors have any complaints—do they?

HKCinemagic :How significant is Infernal Affairs within the period between 1997-2007; a period following the handover, a period when market shares shrank and when the Hong Kong cinema urgently needed to find new ways/formulas to regain its strength.

Gina Marchetti : IA was enormously important. It helped to show that Hong Kong could still produce a film that could make a profit, it solidified the star power of actors like Tony Leung [Chiu-wai] and Andy Lau, and it supported the commitment of other production companies (like Milkyway, for example) to the triad/policier genre. IA also captivated Hollywood filmmakers and international taste-makers. It appeared at a very low moment in Hong Kong's recent past--i.e., at around the time of the SARS outbreak, financial downturn, death of Leslie Cheung, etc.--and it affirmed there was still some life left in the Hong Kong film industry.

HKCinemagic :How does the trilogy influence or is influenced by the Mainland cinema, is related to the PRC society and how do you mention that in your book.

Gina Marchetti : Historically, Hong Kong cinema has always been in conversation with developments (cinematic and otherwise) on the Mainland. It is not surprising that IA should be as well. IA I, of course, was given a different ending for its release in the PRC. IA II features Mainland talent like Hu Jun, and IA III devotes an important part of its plot to PRC gangsters coming into Hong Kong after 1997--featuring Chen Daoming as "Shadow." I devote attention to these and other connections between the PRC and Hong Kong in my book.